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My Journey of Growing a Self-Media Audience
From 0 to 2 Million Followers - A True Story
Hello everyone, I'm Yupi. Born in 1998, I was previously a full-stack developer at Tencent and am now an AI programming knowledge blogger with 2 million followers across platforms + entrepreneur.
In this article, I want to share my 9-year journey: from self-learning programming in college → girlfriend left me for someone else → joined Tencent → resigned to start a business → grew self-media from 0 to 2M followers → product bankruptcy → company products now with 1M+ MAU. There were glorious moments and darkest hours; successes and painful lessons.
If you:
- Want to quickly grow your self-media audience or increase income through side hustles
- Want to know how to start a business from scratch
- Are interested in programming learning, job hunting, or AI technology
- Are currently or planning to start a business and need real experience references
Then this article should give you some inspiration.
If you've never heard of me before or only followed me recently, great—let me tell you a true story of an ordinary programmer becoming a self-media entrepreneur.
My Story
College: Girlfriend Left, But I Came Out on Top
After entering college in 2016, I started teaching myself Java, frontend, Python, Go, and other programming technologies.
Back then, I was truly a workaholic. Attending classes during the day and coding in the library at night was the norm, often returning to the dorm past midnight. As the head of a studio, I led teams to build dozens of websites for the school. With the money earned, I bought my first monitor. The feeling of making money with my own "skills" was incredibly satisfying.
But the cost was heavy.
Long-term intense studying + late nights wrecked my digestive system. For a while, I couldn't eat properly and survived on fast food. Worse, my girlfriend left me because I was always coding and never spent time with her.
It was a painful period. I even questioned whether all this effort was worth it.
But since I'd chosen this path, there was no turning back. I kept pushing forward and eventually graduated as the top student in my major, winning the National Scholarship, National Challenge Cup award, Shanghai Special Prize, and Shanghai Outstanding Graduate title. In my junior year, I co-authored the textbook Blockchain Smart Contract Technology and Applications with a professor.
Looking back now, that feeling of giving your all for a goal was pure. Though I lost a lot, I gained even more.
Tencent: A 211 Undergrad's Comeback Among Tsinghua/Peking Elites
During the 2019 campus recruitment, I received offers from several major tech companies and ultimately chose Tencent.
Honestly, the pressure was immense. I was just a 211 undergrad, surrounded by interns from Tsinghua, Peking, Fudan, and Shanghai Jiao Tong—all with better academic backgrounds. During my first internal training session, when I introduced my school, the looks I got made me feel like a "stray dog."
But I didn't lose confidence. If I couldn't compete academically, I'd compete with time and effort. While others clocked out, I stayed to study internal docs. While they partied on weekends, I pored over project code. During my most intense periods, I even bought a camp bed and slept at the office because I missed the last subway.
Sleeping at the office was awful—cleaning staff would wake you up at 6 AM.
Hard work paid off. I aced my probation review with the highest score in my team and landed an SSP offer (the highest tier).
During my nearly 4 years at Tencent, I led BI project development, contributed to big data projects, won internal app development competitions, earned 5-star employee ratings, and got fast-tracked for promotions. Within 2.5 years, I was mentoring new hires.
After starting work, I used my earnings to buy a TV for my family and a foot massager for my parents. At that moment, I felt all the effort was worth it.
Self-Media: From 18 Views on Douyin to 2M Followers
My first self-media attempt was short videos.
During the pandemic, I created a Douyin account called "Interview King," sharing programmer interview questions. My first video took 3-4 hours to make and got exactly 18 views!
Though disheartened, I didn't give up. For over a month, I posted at least one video daily. My highest-viewed video hit 1,800 views, netting me my first 100+ followers.
Later, I pivoted and created a new account, [Programmer Yupi], sharing my real experiences. The next morning, I woke up to 99+ messages—I was ecstatic!
But opening the comments crushed me: skepticism, disdain, even insults. "Another marketing account," "Total scam," etc. Some hate comments had more likes than my video.
At the time, I wasn't thick-skinned enough and deleted the comments. Looking back, I should've thanked those critics—engagement was sky-high (lol).
During the 2020 National Day holiday, I made another decision.
I'd just finished gaming, feeling aimless. After a year at Tencent, I realized I'd become lazy outside work, wasting post-work hours in a gaming haze.
I wondered: Could some external force reignite my college-era drive?
With that thought, I didn't even bother selling my in-game items. I immediately opened my WeChat public account Programmer Yupi and wrote my first article.
From that day on, I never had time to sell game items again.
Initially, I naively thought more articles = more followers, so I set a goal of one post daily. With almost no followers, I brute-forced over a dozen low-quality articles with minimal reads or growth.
Soon, I realized this was unsustainable and had to change tactics.
I started networking, learning from successful predecessors, mimicking their approaches. I expanded channels, cross-posting content across platforms. I even livestreamed for the first time—with a dozen viewers, I awkwardly repeated, "Hi everyone, this is my first stream."
Most extreme: I livestreamed coding sessions past midnight for 100+ consecutive days after work.
The pressure was real. They say programming causes hair loss, and self-media does too—so combining both must mean torrential hair loss! My scalp was literally weeping!
But I believe: What seems like overnight success is actually years of accumulation. Talented creators just need to flip a switch for their light to shine.
Through persistence, I've now created nearly 1,000 pieces of content, millions of words, and accumulated 2M+ followers.
Over time, skepticism and insults dwindled. Nowadays, negative comments are rare. Sometimes I miss the hate—engagement was killer (kidding).
Knowledge Monetization: From Skepticism to Recognition in 3 Years
In 2022, I launched a paid knowledge community—now called Programming Navigation.
Initially, there was skepticism, which I understood. But I persisted because I didn't want to be someone who cashed in on followers and abandoned content. That would hurt my conscience.
Over 3 years, I've guided members through dozens of original project tutorials, covering AI app development, microservices, high-concurrency systems, and more. Many projects include 100K+ word guides + hours of video tutorials. I even published a project tutorial book—I'm truly committed.
Many students landed big tech offers using these projects. Seeing their success brings me immense joy.
Today, Programming Navigation is one of China's largest programming learning communities, helping hundreds of thousands improve their skills.
Entrepreneurship: From 50K Users to Bankruptcy in One Month
In 2023, I made my biggest life decision: quitting to start a business.
Reasons:
- The AI boom was here—I wanted in.
- Limited growth at the company—I wanted to pursue my passions.
The company felt like a cage. I had many ideas, but work consumed most of my time. Some colleagues even reported me for doing self-media.
I didn't want constraints. I wanted to do what I loved.
At 24, I formed a 4-person team and embarked on a grueling entrepreneurial journey with zero experience.
Honestly, these 2+ years of entrepreneurship brought more setbacks than my first 20+ years combined—worse than failing college exams.
Initially, I was pumped and confident. With just one frontend developer, we built an AI assistant platform Yu Cong Ming AI in about a month.
It launched smoothly, hitting 50K users in a week! I started fantasizing about becoming the next "Li" (Chinese Bill Gates), even taking the team to Beijing for celebration.
But things changed overnight.
Within a month, the product went bankrupt—revenue couldn't cover costs!
AI products got banned, competitors flooded the market, and we'd given away too many free memberships (exploited by users). It was devastating—our first product, our hope, gone.
They say embrace change—but this change hugged me to death!!!
Later, I cooled down and realized chasing viral hits without a stable team was too risky. Better to focus on long-term value.
We shifted to utility products: Lao Yu Resume, Code Snippets, Clip Assistant, Interview Duck, etc. We also kept improving Programming Navigation, releasing more project tutorials.
The pressure was unimaginable.
Massive monthly costs, team磨合, product iterations, market competition, slander, cyberbullying, reports, rumors, fraud—TV drama plots became my reality.
My health collapsed too. Chronic sleep deprivation, irregular meals, and stress wrecked my digestion, requiring hospital tests. My hair fell out alarmingly fast—see proof:
My diary from that time summed it up in one word: "numb." The mental strain was like Damocles' sword hanging overhead.
No exaggeration—I was depressed more days than in my entire "previous life."
But I didn't quit.
Early on, I feared mistakes and failure. But after repeated failures, I grew oddly "addicted"! Each failure brought growth:
- Product bankruptcy → deeper product/business thinking
- Hiring mistakes → refined recruitment standards
- Contract breaches → better legal awareness
Now, I enjoy the stumble-and-learn process. My mindset stabilized. I tell myself: "I'm just paying tuition. Even if the company fails, it's a unique experience, right?"
Now: Back to Square One?
Today, my tech company Yuyuan Network has 10+ team members.
After 2.5 years, we've built Programming Navigation, Interview Duck, Lao Yu Resume, Mian Duo Duo, AI Navigation, Clip Assistant, Code Snippets, Algorithm Navigation, Kuang Kuang University, and more. Interview Duck now has hundreds of thousands of users, and our product matrix collectively exceeds 1M MAU.
But ironically, I feel like I'm back where I started.
I still spend days typing away: writing articles/videos, creating programming/AI tutorials, learning, researching needs. You'd never guess this is a team leader's work—it often feels like I've time-traveled to 2.5 years ago.
Why still do this myself?
First, I love creating—even if others see it as pointless tinkering, I enjoy it.
Second, I don't want to just manage. I aim to maintain technical skills and output ability. If the company fails, I can still compete in the job market.
Plus, my company is IP-based—my personal brand is foundational.
Our workflow: I handle external output; the team delivers. I contribute as a developer while creating content to drive traffic.
I still study cutting-edge tech like AI, building my AI Resource Hub. I consume 3-5 articles/videos daily—a habit I've kept for years.
Oh, last year I opened an escape room venue. It's already bankrupt, LOL cries... That sci-fi-worthy saga deserves its own article.
Honest Advice for Aspiring Self-Media/Creators
Given my journey, here's some hard-earned wisdom:
- Cold Start: Authenticity Matters Most
The beginning is always tough. My first followers came from heartfelt content that got reposted by bigger accounts.
From observation, the more real/natural you are, the likelier you'll blow up. Don't fear backlash—trolls come with the territory. I embrace being a goofball—who argues with a clown?
Quality content is king. Authenticity is AI-era gold.
- Persistence: Lower Expectations, Keep Going
Many stress over low engagement, feeling unseen/unappreciated.
But persistence guarantees success.
I never had viral hits—followers grew gradually. My first Douyin video had 18 views; early blog posts had single-digit reads.
But streaming coding past midnight for 100+ days broke barriers.
Best antidote to anxiety: Lower expectations + consistent action. Treat yourself as a beginner, keep improving.
- Content: Fun > Dry Knowledge
Understand your audience. In-depth tutorials attract seekers—casual learners prefer bite-sized, entertaining content.
Record spontaneous ideas; avoid forced scripts. Cut fluff, add memes; use funny GIFs/music in edits.
My quality checklist:
- Entertaining
- Relatable/real
- Leaves value (knowledge/tangible takeaway)
- Concise/clear focus
-
Products: Validate Fast, Iterate Constantly
Don't overcomplicate. Start with MVP (minimum viable product), validate quickly, then refine.
My first product failed partly because we over-invested upfront, giving away too many free memberships (exploited by users)—poor cost control. -
Team: Learn to Delegate
Early on, I micromanaged—coding everything myself, bearing all burdens. Result? Inefficiency → anxiety → paralysis.
Delegating is a must for founders.
It took me ages to prioritize internal documentation. Now, with 4,790 team docs, I have more time to create. -
Mindset: Enjoy the Stumbles
Traits for entrepreneurial success: endless creativity, calmness, resilience.
No matter others' opinions, I do what I find meaningful and joyful—that's enough.
- Health is #1 Priority
Someone once asked a $10M-funded founder: "How to sleep well?" He smiled: "Get a better pillow." Back then, I didn't get it—now I do.
Seriously, health is foundational. Eat breakfast, sleep regularly. I'm the cautionary tale—wrecked gut, receding hairline.
Closing Thoughts
Thanks for reading my story. Nine years: from self-taught coder to Tencent dev, 0 to 2M followers, entrepreneur with 1M+ MAU products.
I'm Yupi—a still-hustling programmer, a "workaholic" spending 90% time learning/working, an ordinary guy who loves sharing and creating.
Though my hairline's retreating, my passion isn't.
My motto: Believe you can, and you will. Often, limits are self-imposed. Now, I embrace failure—each misstep paves the way forward.
I'll keep sharing fun programming tips, practical AI tricks, audience-growth hacks, and entrepreneurial war stories.
The journey's long—early followers like you are OG!
